White House

A proposed new Amazon feature constitutes a "hostile" action against the Trump Administration ... so says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

During a briefing Tuesday morning, a reporter asked about a report about Amazon running a new line item on check-outs that would tell people how much more they're paying because of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Leavitt -- standing beside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent -- called the move a "hostile and political act" ... before asking why Amazon didn't do the same to highlight inflation during former President Joe Biden's term.

Shedeur Sanders would still be without an NFL home if it weren't for President Donald Trump's NFL draft temper tantrum -- at least that's what the White House press secretary joked on Monday ... saying, "The facts speak for themselves."

No. 45-47 was FURIOUS after Day 1 of the annual draft ... claiming anyone who passed on the former Colorado quarterback was "STUPID" not to take him, as his Hall of Famer pops did a great job raising him.

When Karoline Leavitt was asked about whether Trump's Truth Social outrage ultimately led to Sanders going No. 144 overall to the Cleveland Browns more than a day later, she said the proof is in the pudding.

Donald Trump says he's fighting back against the Left for all Italian people ... claiming Democrats destroyed the reputation of Christopher Columbus -- but, he plans to restore him to a place of honor.

The President of the United States took to Truth Social to blast Democrats for destroying the once good name of Chris Columbus ... announcing he's bringing Columbus Day "back from the ashes."

President Trump says his opponents on the other side of the aisle have done everything in their power to "destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much."

Democrats going to war with President Trump over alleged gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia makes perfect sense to D.L. Hughley, who says it's really a battle for what should matter most to all Americans.

Things got heated Tuesday on "TMZ Live" when Harvey suggested Abrego Garcia might not be the hill Democrats wanna die on ... considering he's been accused of beating his wife and having an affiliation with MS-13, an international criminal gang.

D.L. thinks you're missing the point if you think the case is just about one Maryland husband and dad ... he says it's about the Trump administration thinking it can "spirit away" anyone it wants without giving them their day in court.

Lizzo seems to be feeling "Good as Hell" about her 'SNL' performance Saturday night ... which included a jab at President Donald Trump's polarizing tariff plans.

The singer -- who advocated for Kamala Harris' run for the White House -- performed a medley of "Love in Real Life" and "Still Bad" on the sketch comedy series while proudly sporting a black crop top with red lettering reading "TARIFFIED."

There's no doubt Lizzo's shirt references Trump's tariffs, which include a newly announced 145% rate on Chinese imports that stunned -- and terrified -- many Americans.

The Dodgers visited the White House on Monday, but it was Donald Trump who appeared to be the most awestruck person in the building ... as he fanboyed out over Shohei Ohtani.

The L.A. slugger and the rest of the Boys in Blue cruised out to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue just a few hours before their game with the Nationals to celebrate their 2024 World Series title ... and Trump was clearly enamored with the team's Japanese two-way player.

Trump called Shohei out by name during his speech about the Dodgers' big year ... praising him for his one-of-a-kind 50-50 season.

Has A.I. entered the White House? There's an interesting theory circulating social media claiming President Trump's new sweeping reciprocal tariffs -- slapping a minimum 10% tariff on nearly 100 countries -- were formulated with the help of artificial intelligence.

The theory comes after several X users claimed they duplicated the same tariff plan via OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar programs.

For background, the White House announced it calculated the size of the trade deficit between the U.S. and a given country and divided that by how much America imports from the chosen country. That number was then divided in half, reaching the new tariff rate.

Crypto trader Jordan "Cobie" Fish shared a screenshot asking ChatGPT to "calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even playing fields when it comes to trade deficit" with a baseline of 10% ... and it answered with a noticeably similar plan to what the White House used.

ChatGPT warned Cobie the plan fails to take into account the "intricate dynamics of international trade -- such as elasticities, retaliatory measures, and supply chain nuances."

Plus, Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok created a similar plan when instructed with the same prompt. It also cautioned one must "consider production costs, subsidies, and labor standards abroad" when hoping to achieve an "even playing field."

Furthermore, Grok warned such a formula could cause "retaliation or higher costs for US consumers."

Other X users have noticed similar formulas generated via 4o, o3 high, Gemini 2.5 pro, and Claude 3.7.

Economist James Surowiecki says he was also able to reverse-engineer the "fake tariff rates" ... calling the simplicity of it all "extraordinary nonsense."

When Trump announced his new tariffs Thursday, he said they were necessary to boost domestic manufacturing, create revenue for the U.S. and restore fairness to global trade.

A story highlighting Jackie Robinson's time in the United States Army is back up on the Department of Defense website ... less than 24 hours after it was removed.

The story reappeared on the DoD's government site Wednesday afternoon ... after a wave of public backlash over its removal.

It's unclear whether the initial takedown was intentional or accidental.

President Trump says he's revoking Secret Service protection for Joe Biden's adult children Hunter and Ashley ... despite extending the same benefits to his own offspring after his first term.

Here's the deal ... Biden assigned Secret Service security details to Hunter and Ashley shortly before leaving office in January, providing them protection until July.

Trump says he's pulling the plug early, though ... announcing Monday on social media, "Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!"

POTUS says Hunter has the detail with him on vacation in South Africa and adds ... "Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection."

Trump also claims Ashley has 13 Secret Service agents assigned to protect her ... but he's ending the benefit.

It's officially a St. Patrick's Day party at the White House ... Conor McGregor's arrived!!

The UFC superstar -- and arguably Ireland's most famous native -- hit up 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Monday morning to celebrate his nation's big day ... and Donald Trump and Co. welcomed him with open arms.

The 36-year-old fighter fielded some questions from media inside the building's press briefing room ... before he filmed a fun video that White House officials threw up on their X page.

A Black mother who lost her son before the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement says the removal of BLM Plaza in our nation's capital is a sign the country is in a bad place.

Ahmaud Arbery's mom, Wanda Cooper Jones, tells TMZ ... the removal of the BLM mural in Washington, D.C. "feels like a bad omen" and she says it serves as "a reminder of how fragile progress can be."

Wanda says BLM was never about murals, monuments, or symbolic gestures ... it's always been about accountability, justice and meaningful change -- but she doesn't like the change being made here.

9:55 AM PT -- In the Oval Office today at the White House, President Donald Trump met with Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheál Martin -- the country's prime minister -- and Martin was asked why Ireland would allow Rosie O'Donnell to move there ... "Thank you, I like that question," Trump responded. Martin didn't seem to know who they were talking about, as they all chuckled.

Rosie O'Donnell says she's ditched the U.S.A. for her ancestral homeland ... telling fans she and her daughter have moved to Ireland -- and, President Trump's team says the White House couldn't be happier.

The former talk show host announced the move in a nearly 10-minute-long video she posted to TikTok earlier this week ... and, in it she says she moved to the Emerald Isle on January 15.

O'Donnell -- who says she's in the process of getting Irish citizenship, because her grandparents were born in the country -- points to the fraught political situation in the United States of America as the reason for her move.

Jamie Foxx thinks Black American social efforts took a step back with the destruction of the Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C. ... he remembers the effort it took to get the thing built in the first place!!!

The cleanup process for the BLM mural began this week after Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser got pressure from the White House to either change the name or lose the city's federal funding, should a proposed legislative bill pass.

It's not like the summer of 2020 -- when the mural was first installed -- was terribly long ago, but given the protests that surrounded the murder of George Floyd, Jamie probably assumed the political artwork would stand much longer ... it was originally planned to be permanent.

The Secret Service surrounded a man who was brandishing a gun near The White House on Sunday.

The agency said they were notified on Saturday by local law enforcement that a man who they believe was suicidal had traveled from Indiana to Washington D.C. late Saturday night, SS officials noticed the man parked next to a building directly next to The White House. The SS says as officers approached his vehicle, he brandished a firearm and “an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired.”

The man was transported to a local hospital where his condition is currently unknown, the agency’s statement concluded.

None of the Secret Service agents handling the situation were injured.

Curtis Stone is down to prepare a meal for President Trump ... and he's ready to bring a taste of Australia to the White House.

The celeb chef told us what he would serve Trump during an interview on our new TMZ podcast, "Big Down Under," with our camera guy Charlie Cotton.

Curtis says Wagyu beef would definitely be on the menu ... although it sounds like he's going to have to get creative with preparation, seeing as how Trump likes his steaks well done, with ketchup.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard wants to rip a page from Kim Kardashian's book ... she says she's open to talking with President Trump about changes that can be made to the prison system.

Gypsy was at LAX on Monday night when a photog asked her how she would feel about sitting down with Trump for a White House meeting on prison reform.

GRB says she would absolutely welcome such an opportunity if it came her way ... and she's got a lot she would like to say to POTUS.